Winter Sky

Great looking sky in Carrigtwohill the other morning!

Monoprinting

These are a few monoprints I did as part of the H.Dip course. The two more drawn-looking ones are based on previous drawings i've done (the hair one should be pretty familiar - i've gotten great mileage out of that!). I love the very different line quality that monoprint affords. The slightly scary one was made by taking away ink from the plate using the back of a paintbrush and a piece of bark, a totally alternative way of creating an image and it can have very interesting / different results. It's coming close to the end of semester one now, feeling the pressure!!

Sharp Suits

This is the best thing i've seen in a while! Sharp Suits is a series of posters designed in aid of the Temple Street Children's Hospital. The posters all immortalise various cringe-worthy client comments through the years. I've featured some of my favourite above, but they're all amazing!

Stages of a Still Life Painting

I've been neglecting my blog so much, i'm not going to feel guilty about it though! As I mentioned before, i'm studying for the H.Dip in Art and Design Education at the moment. It's MENTAL busy, so i'm thinking two posts a month until June (when I get my life back!) I'm also making a teaching blog as part of the course, it's private at the moment but i'll make it public once i've finished the course.

On a Wednesday, we have peer teaching day (curriculum studies) when we make art and learn a new discipline with the aim of teaching that discipline in class. Here is a series of shots of a still life painting I did recently, I had an earlier still life that I really wanted to improve on, rather than re-working that I started again here.

Observational Drawing

I did this drawing as part of the curriculum studies module in the H. Dip for Art and Design teaching in Crawford. It's on a2 paper so it's pretty huge, a massively blown up drawing of two fairly small, odd looking gourds.

More Day of the Dead!

I came across the Dia de los Muertos celebrations in Ogden Museum on my twitter feed. I had the pleasure of visiting the museum last Mardi Gras. I loved it! It's one of the best museums i've ever been to. So much original and unique Southern style art. I loved the Folk Art tradition in New Orleans, it has a distinct humour and really vibrant style. The Ogden's Dia de los Muertos celebration is no exception! The museum is very connected with the culture and people of New Orleans. Museums can be a bit elitest but this one is so open and inviting to the public. It has an eclectic mix of music nights and loads of other events. I wish I could be there this Hallowe'en!

These photos are from the museum's facebook page. The calendar page of the museum site gives the following info:

"Artist Cynthia Ramirez creates a Day of the Dead altar to honor New Orleans icon Uncle Lionel Batiste. The altar will include items that she has incorporated into it, as well as those the public has brought her to include."

"Presented by the Consulate of Mexico, New Orleans; Tulane University's Stone Center for Latin American Studios and the Ogden Museum of Southern Art."

ATAI Conference 2012

I was at the ATAI Conference last weekend with a lot of my classmates on the dip.

It was a really interesting day with talks from Lesley Burgess, Gemma Tipton and Mary McCarthy, followed by a panel discussion on various topics in art education today. I had not been aware of the proposal to amalgamate all teacher training courses into one facility, it was interesting to hear thoughts and opinions on that from the panel.

The most enjoyable part of the conference for me was perhaps the opportunity to see some of the leading student work from around the country. Unfortunately I didn't bring my camera, so I had to make do with my (poorer quality) camera phone. There's a few images here to feast your eyes on anyway!